What's the deal?

[Enkedu]

Why isn't dentistry a specialty in medicine? (like ophthalmology, nephrology)

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[ItsGavinC]

If you want to look at it from a semantic point of view, dentistry certainly is considered a medical specialty. For example, just today I was browsing the application for a medical student fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Although the fellowship is called a "medical student fellowship," it is also open to all US dental students.

Certainly studying the oral cavity is as much medical related as is the digestive system or any other bodily system.

However, there ARE many differences between dentistry and medicine as it is known and practiced today. Foremost is the fact that dentistry is much more a preventative specialty than any of the medical specialties.

To directly answer your question, however, I would have to say that I don't know. I DO know that the first surgeons were dentists, and that many common techniques in medicine were pioneered and first utilized by dentists. I don't know, however, where medicine and dentistry took different paths.

I DO also know that I'm greatful that dentistry is not a specialty under the umbrella of allopathic or osteopathic medicine. As such dentists do not currently have to endure many of the same tortures that our physician counterparts are experiencing. I *DO* wish dentists were smarter in billing, however, and able to utilize the ICD/CPT treatment coding systems that physicians use, rather than solely the ADA coding systems.

The difference in this lies in the fact that physicians have billing codes for time spent on check-up procedures, whereas dentists by and large only code for procedures that are actually treatment methods.

Now I'm just rambling...

 

[JavadiCavity]

Good post.

Just as an interesting side note, the dentist I shawdowed was taking advantage of billing for time. On one occasion, he billed a fellow (who didn't have appt.) for coming into the office to have a look at his denture (which had been giving him problems). On another occasion, he billed a lady for bringing her new born baby to her appt. because a dental assistant had to stop working in order to hold and calm the baby. I was interested in whether or not his patients felt it was unfair to be billed this way. I asked the office manager who is in charge of collections, and she said, for the most part, patients don't mind, and they actually expect to be charged for taking some of the dentists time.

I found it to be very interesting.

 

[aphistis]

I certainly plan to bill for time spent away from other patients.

 

[LestatZinnie]

last time i visited two dentist to take a look at my gum inflammation due to wisdom tooth, they both charged $15 for just taking a 1 min look and then subscribing antibiotics.

i think there IS a minimum charge for examination, however brief it is.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Sorry, I should have clarified myself.

There is NOT a billing code for insurance (that I'm aware of at least) for examination.

Meaning, no insurance company in their right mind will pay a dentist who only bills for a check-up.

Some sort of dx or treatment measure must be included in the coding.

My impression, anyway.

 

[ShawnOne]

There IS an insurance code for examination (010 i think), but you can only bill for examination once every 6 months.

 

[UBTom]

Yup... My school has us filling in ICD-9 codes on the patient billing forms since August.

That crap and HIPAA... !@#&^%#$ Goddamn worthless additional stress-inducing time-consuming tree-killing paperwork..

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by ShawnOne
There IS an insurance code for examination (010 i think), but you can only bill for examination once every 6 months.

You are right. Still, dentists typically find it difficult to bill for just simply TALKING to somebody, while physicians can have a hayday with it.

Dentists have to incorporate any extra fees into their regular fee schedule when billing (for example, bumping up the prophy fee by $10 in order to cover something else).